And That's a wrap!
by behindenmylines
Summary: Liz Gillies and Ariana Grande are in love. This takes place right after the show gets cancelled. Also, this is my first fanfic, so be nice. I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry the chapter is so short. I'm new to this fanfiction thing. Lol please leave reviews! :) ENJOY!**

"And… That's a wrap!" Dan Schneider called from behind the camera. The usual "after wrapping" festivities begin with warm hugs being distributed all around set. There's something about this tradition that just reassures us all that we truly are a family. As usual, we all head over to the Schneider house for our dinner that Dan's wife, Lisa, always prepares for us.

Some small talk ensues, and then Lisa serves us three meat lasagna. Why so fancy? I think to myself. We usually have sandwiches or salad or something. I can't help myself from worrying about her forgetting that I'm vegan. Before I can even finish worrying, she brought out a succulent handmade eggplant parmesan. There is always so much thought and effort in her cuisines, you can just taste it. Lisa Schneider has to be one of the sweetest ladies I've ever known. A few minutes after we dig in, Dan stands up and all eyes immediately turn to him. His expression was unreadable.

"Guys, I have a big announcement." I think we were all expecting him to say something exciting like that we got picked up for another season or a movie or a concert or something. "I've been in talks with Nickelodeon for the past week and a half about some things," he continued, "they think that it's best that we not continue with a fifth season of_ Victorious_." The room was silent. "I'm really sorry." Dan said in a sorrowful tone, choking up a bit at the end. No one said a word, no one moved. I felt my stomach twist and turn. I totally ignored the fact that I would soon be unemployed, I was too focused on the realization that, in a weird way, this family (my only _real_ family) would soon begin to crumble. My heart suddenly dropped as I realized that I wouldn't be spending everyday with Ariana. We've been through this before and it hurt our friendship. We've gotten so close over the past year and we're pretty much inseparable. I mean, I guess I always knew this day would come, I guess I just never realized how soon it could happen. I looked to my left and saw Ariana in tears. I can't handle seeing my best friend cry (even though she was still absolutely flawless in every way), so I took her wrist and walked her to the bathroom. As soon as we reach the bathroom, I wrap my arms around her.

"Ari," I tried "shh, It's gonna be okay, I promise." All that was audible were sobs. As I hand her a tissue she starts talking.

"Liz, this is all my fault." I give her a puzzled look, then she cointiues "Dan's doing a new show with me and Jennette. If I wouldn't have said 'yes' then, maybe _Victorious_ could've had another season. Maybe it's not too late! Maybe if I change my mind I can call Nickelodeon and"

"And what?" I cut her off. "Ari, They've already made up their mind. Plus, why would you turn down a show where you're the star to go back to a show where you're only recurring?" her eyes were soft, like always. "Please, don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you."

"I'm gonna miss you guys so much." She said, wiping her tears.

"Ari, you know that everyone is only a text away and I know exactly how you feel. I literally feel like my heart has been ripped out. I'm sure everyone else feels the exact same way. We're such a good family, Ariana, you know that. We all just have to try to continue to hang out together and have more kickbacks. We're family." She gives me a little smile then gives me another hug. "Hey, how about we have a little sleep over at my house tonight; it'll make you feel better." I offer. She nods before we head back out with the rest of the cast.

When we got back, everyone greeted us with hugs. The atmosphere had definately changed. Everyone was singing, acting crazy and just having a great time. It was like no bad news had ever happened. I sat back down next to Matt and gave him a little smile. He gave me an evil smirk, then signaled for me to look under my plate. There was a little piece of paper with writing on it. In his messy handwriting, it read "_Did you tell her?_"


	2. Chapter 2

**Once again, sorry about it being so short. I'm still trying to work on that :) Please leave reviews.**

Matt's known how I feel about Ariana for a while now. He was the first one I ever told. I remember when I first started developing feelings for her; they were like none I've ever experienced before. I tried brushing it off and trying to convince myself that I didn't have feelings for her, but it was no use. Eventually, I just had to learn to deal with this little harmless crush that I thought would pass after a month. Well, this "little" crush had lasted over a year. I was in such a vulnerable place, I had to tell someone. Luckily, my dear old friend Matt Bennett was done filming for the day. I went up to his dressing room door and frantically knocked. He opened the door. Before he could even say anything, I barged in and was a mess of tears.

"Liz? What's wrong?" He was sincerely worried, and I loved that about him. Besides Ariana, Matt was my only other _true_ friend. He directed me towards the couch and we sat. I tried to collect myself and I wiped my tears.

"Matt, I have to tell you something. Something's been eating at me for a while now and I just have to tell someone," he gave a little smile. "You can't tell anyone. I'm serious, Matt!" he nodded and held out his pinky. He's such a dork. I locked pinkies with him then took a deep breath. I looked him directly in the eye "I'm in love with Ariana." As soon as I said those five words, I wanted to take them back. Not because I didn't trust Matt, I just hated to admit it. He sat there silently and I started to cry. He began rubbing my back.

"Liz, it's okay. To be honest, I think _everyone_ in the world is in love with Ariana." He was trying, but it wasn't helping.

"Yeah, but she's not _everyone's_ best friend!" I shot back. ""I _can't_ love her, Matt! I just can't!" I stood up and walked to the window. "This is in no way okay." There was a brief silence. I turned around and looked at him. Almost whispering, "What do I do?" He walked up to me and wiped a tear.

"Maybe you should tell her how you feel. You never know, she might feel the same way." I laughed.

"Ariana's as straight as they come. You know she's boy crazy." I started picking off my finger nail polish, which is a really bad nervous habit I get. "She'll never be able to love me. That's the worst part. I'm forever friend-zoned."

"Hey!" he put my chin up. "Don't talk about yourself like that. You need to talk to her." We heard laughter coming from down the hall. Ariana's laugh. I'd know it anywhere. There was something about her infectious laugh; I can't help but smile when I hear it. "GO. TALK. TO. HER."

That was a few months ago. Since then, I've had plenty of opportunities to tell Ariana how I feel about her. I guess, I just chicken out. Part of me doesn't want to tell her. It's kinda fun having this secret from her, although sometimes I wish I could ask her for advice. I'm scared to tell her how I feel. We're in such a good place right now and I don't want to ruin that, but we could be in a better place if she felt the same way about me. _No, Liz! Stop it!_ I think to myself, _Ariana will never love you_.

I look back over at Matt and roll my eyes. Times passes and one by one, people start leaving. Ariana and I grab our belongings and say our goodbyes before heading out. "Do you need anything from home?" I ask her as we walk out to my car. She shakes her head. I can tell that she still feels guilty. We reach my car and before we leave I look into her eyes. "Ari, please stop feeling guilty about all this. We're gonna have a fun night tonight, okay?" I give her a smile and she gives one back.

"You're right, Liz. It's not my fault. And tonight should be a night of celebration." With that, we go on our way.


	3. Chapter 3

**WOW! OH my goodness thank you so much for the reviews! I never thought I'd get any! hahaha I'm glad ya'll are enjoying the story. I have big, big plans for this! Thank you again for the support! Oh, and I made this chapter significantly longer. ENJOY! **

The car ride home was much better. We were laughing and singing really loud. It was like we were in our own little world, and I liked it. When we finally reached my house Ariana ran to the bathroom shouting "Gotta pee, gotta pee!" I laughed silently to myself. God, she's adorable. I walked into the kitchen to find a note on the refrigerator "_Lizzy, won't be home 'til morning. There's food in the fridge. Xo Mom_" Typical. When is she ever home anymore? I crumbled the note and tossed it in the trash. I started to make tea. It's this weird quirk of mine; whenever I'm angry or stressed, I make tea. Ariana strolled into the kitchen. "Tea? Are you okay, Liz?" My back was turned to her and I didn't respond. "Liz, what happened? Are you still upset about the show ending becauase you shouldn't be. You're the one who told me-"

"I KNOW WHAT I TOLD YOU!" I turned around and saw tears in her eyes and a little pout on her lip. A typical sign that she was trying not to break down. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, Ari." There was some silence. "I haven't seen my mom in days and she's not coming home tonight." I confessed. "I know that's no excuse for getting so upset at you-"

"I understand." She gave a generous smile then grabbed two mugs from my cabinet. She always made herself comfortable when she's at my house. "So, what's the plan for tonight?" Honestly, I had no idea. I hadn't had anytime to even think about what to do.

"Well, my mom's not home so we can pretty much do anything we want." I poured the tea and we walked upstairs to my bedroom. Ariana grabbed my computer and sat next to me on the rug. "What are you doing?" I couldn't help but laugh. She didn't answer and continued logging into stuff on my computer. I had no idea she knew any of my log in information.

"Let's go on Tumblr!" Oh God. I looked at her and rolled my eyes. She knows how much I hate Tumblr now. It's full of people who wish they were hipster. Back when I had an account, there were only a few thousand users and now there's millions. "Let's search our names! I love seeing pictures that people make all pretty!" I love the way that she gets so excited over the simplest of things. We looked at the search engine. "Oh my God! How did they get these pictures?!" She asked terrified. "We look like lesbians!" On my computer screen was a picture of me and Ariana having a little camera whore session., with seductive and provocative poses. We were just messing around innocently, but it made me realize, did I have feelings for her back then, too?

"Maybe we should just find something else to do." I offer, but she continues on with her search. I really don't know what she thinks she's going to find? She stops scrolling. I look at the screen and all I see is hate. There was a picture of Ariana with three words written on it, _fake_, _slut_, and _ugly_. I closed my laptop. She just sat there, biting her lip, trying to avoiding pouting it. "You're not seriously hurt about that are you? Come on, you've gotten way worse than that before and plus, did you see the awful editing job? Amateurs." She tried to smile. "Seriously, Ariana, don't stress those haters. It's not even worth it." She attacked me with a hug and held on for a while.

"I love you, Liz." I knew that should have made me feel good, but it didn't. Hearing those words broke my heart. She'll never be able to say it the way I want to.

"I love you, too, Ari." I said. If only she knew how much I really meant it.

"Can we please just look a little more? I like to see what my fans have to say. I saw some hate now I need some love." I sighed then opened my computer. She had me wrapped around her finger. Suddenly, she stopped. "Liz, what does it mean to 'ship' two people together?" I looked at her puzzled. "Yeah, I've been seeing a lot of people saying 'I ship Liz and Ariana.' What does that even mean?" We decided to look it up on .

"It says to endorse a romantical pairing." I can't explain what feeling was running through me, but knowing that people actually wanted me and Ariana together, gave me a sense of hope. I couldn't tell the expression on Ariana's face, so I just looked at her.

"People want us to date?" There was not expression of emotion I her voice. She looked down at her nails and so did I. I started picking at mine. "That's really weird, huh? People wanting us to date. Crazy." I don't know what to say, so I don't say anything at all. Then, Ariana's phone rings. "It's Matt." She said before she answered. "Hello?" "I'm at Liz's, why?" "Sleepover." "No you can not join us!" she looks and me and playfully rolls her eyes. "Yeah, I'll tell her." "okay, bye." She hung up smiling and shaking her head. "He's so weird!"

"I agree. What was that all about?"

"Nothing really. He just wanted to check up on me and make sure I was okay. And then, he asked if he could join!" She actually laughed out loud. I couldn't help but laugh along with her. Her laugh is contagious. "Oh, and he told me to tell you 'hello' and he said you need to check your phone." I laughed and pulled out my phone from my pocket. _You tell Ariana, or I will. You have until the Nickelodeon wrap party._ The wrap party? I can't believe Matt would threaten me like that. And with only four days to the wrap party, I had to make up my mind, and fast! "What'd he say?" she asked with a smile.

"Um, nothing. He's weird. Anyway let's do a live chat!" I knew this was a nice, easy way to change the subject. Ariana LOVES doing live chats, so hopefully this will get the night going. We both send out tweets with our live chat links. About forty-five minutes into the chat we decide it's time to go, we were getting bored of the same people asking for the same shout outs.

"Alright guys, we have to go. Have a wonderful night. Love you guys!" She blows them a kiss and then signs off. "Was that the most boring live chat or what?" I nodded. "hey, I'm gonna go change , I'll be back." She walks to my dresser and pulls out a pair of pajamas. She slept over so often that she just decided she'd wear my clothes instead of going home to get hers. I decide that now would be a good time for me to get mine, too. I grabbed one of my oversized T shirts and shorts. First I put the shorts on. Then my phone rang. Matt. "Ugh, what?" "Have you told her yet?" "No, Matt, now leave me alone!" I hung up on him and threw my phone on my bed. I took my shirt off and Ariana walked in.

"Oh God. I'm sorry! I'll just-" She covered her eyes, blushing, and turned around.

"You've seen me in my bra before. Why are you stressing?" I pulled the shirt over my head and walked to where we were sitting on the rug.

"I'm not. I just- Ooh jelly beans!" When Ariana gets uncomfortable, she changed the subject to something that's usually ridiculous. It's just one of the eight hundred adorable things about her. "Put on some RENT music!" That was actually a really good idea. I placed my CD in and put it on shuffle. Somehow, it turned into a full on RENT karaoke session. Strangely, that's what happens every time we listen to RENT. There was full on laughter and ridiculously off key singing. Finally, our favorite song came on, "Light my Candle." Like always, she's Mimi and I'm Roger. It's not even something we discuss, it just happens naturally. Something about this time is different. It's not as playful as normal, but more serious. She sang "Big, like my father's. You wanna dance?" as she linked her fingers together with mine. My heart started racing. _Is this really happening_, I thought to myself_? No Liz, stop it! She's just trying to get into character_, I reminded myself. I was so lost in thought I completely forgot to sing the next part. She just started at me, urging me to go on.

"I'm Roger." I sang. She sang the next line beautiful as ever and I began to get lost in her eyes. Her eyes are the most beautiful shade of brown. You can see how soft and caring she truly is. The music ends. We sit just staring. She leans in closer to my face, our hands still linked. I feel like my heart is about to explode. My thoughts are suddenly interrupted by lips. Ariana's lips. _Ariana_ had kissed _me_. The kiss was short and sweet and her lips tasted like strawberry.

"Oh my God," was all we both could mutter.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys SOOO much for you kind words! The reviews keep me writing and updating so THANK YOU! **

After a few silent moments Ariana was the first one to speak (frankly, because I was still trying to convince myself that this really happened). "Wh.. what just happened?" There was panic and worry in her voice. She jumped up and started pacing throughout my bed room. Her breathing increased and she began to bite her nails. Ariana had _never_ and I mean _NEVER_ bitten her nails in her entire life; it's one of her biggest pet peeves. She finds it disgusting and unattractive. She plopped down on the edge of bed and head in her head in her hands. She began to sob softly. I knew I couldn't just sit there. If I wanted to make this relationship thing happen, I had to get up off my butt and comfort the girl I love. I walked over to my bed and sat down beside her. I began to rub her back and shoulders, not in a seductive way, but in a comforting way, of course. "Liz, stop!" There was an edge to her voice, an edge I'd never heard before and it worried me. First off, Ariana hasn't ever raised her voice at me, but for her to raise her voice at _anyone_ while they're trying to comfort her, is so not like Ariana. My worry continued.

"Ari," I sighed, "What's going on? I've never seen you this way before."

"Hello?" She looked up from her palms, "Do you not know what just happened?" Her beautiful face was stained with tears. Her eyes were glossy and her nose was red. Still, she was the most beautiful creation.

"Umm.. Yeah, I was kind of there. We kissed, so what?" I added a smile.

"Oh my God, Liz don't say it out loud!" I wouldn't say that I've ever really had my heart broken before, but at that moment, when she said those words, I knew I had a broken heart. I could almost hear the shattering of my heart. This pain was like none I'd ever experienced before. I was so close to finally getting what I wanted, but still so far. I had Ariana right where I wanted her, but this, this reaction was never what I expected.

"Whatever, Ariana." I stormed out of my bedroom in a bit of a shock; I never call Ariana "Ariana," never, not even when I'm upset at her. Still steamed, I ran down the stairs to my mother's bedroom. As weird as it sounds, it's the one place in the house, actually, in the world, where I can always find peace. No one knows that there's a secret passageway through her room that leads to a room; not even Ariana. To be completely honest, I'm pretty sure my own mother forgot about the room. When I was five years old, before my father left us for some slutty twenty three year old, my parents build me my own little play room. Sad thing is it was never completely finished. After my father left when I was six, I've started adding little trinkets and such to make it more personalized. It' the one place in the world that is one hundred percent Liz. The room is pitch black and so silent it makes your ears hurt. Too depressed to fumble with the stupid light, I fall to the ground and cry. I felt like my world around me was crumbling. I've never been in so much pain before. I couldn't think about anything other than her lips, her perfectly pink strawberry lips. I'm not even a fan of strawberries, but it was the best taste I've ever tasted. Everything about our kiss was perfect. The way our lips fit together just right, the taste, the way our fingers feel when they're linked together, the scenery, and the girl; the greatest girl in the world. We had kissed. My dream that I had dreamt for so long, had finally come true. And now it's over. Not just the kiss, but probably our friendship, too. There's no way I could live without Ariana, I've never had a friend like her. She's the greatest person I've ever known. The thought of losing her causes me to cry even more. I start to form into a position much like a ball. I can hear muffled sounds coming from upstairs (not gonna lie, I may have thought they were ghosts for a split second). It was the most alarming voice I'd heard. It was Ariana.

"Liz? Lizzy, I'm sorry! Can we please talk? Where are you? Liz?" I can't stand hearing Ariana's voice like that; scared, worried. If she was ready to talk, then I guess I was, too. I stood up and wiped the tears off my face with my T shirt. As I walked out of my secret place, I walked past a mirror in my mother's room. _Oh God_, I thought to myself. My eyes were puffy and red and there was black mascara and eyeliner residue all over my cheeks. I gave my face one more wipe, then walked out of my mother's bedroom. Ariana was still calling my name. "Liz, please answer me." I knew exactly where she was; the kitchen. I walked in the kitchen and saw her, my heart dropped. I didn't say a word. "Li-" she turned around and gave me a little smile. I gave nothing. "Lizzy," a name she only calls me when she wants to cheer me up. Her smile turned into a frown quickly. "You've been crying?" I look down and wipe my face again. "Liz, can we please talk?" I didn't say anything; I just continued to look at her. Apparently, she took that as a yes. "I think I may have over reacted a little bit."

"A little?" I said with some edge.

"Please, Liz, let me finish." I gestured her to go on. "I really don't know what came over me. I've never done anything like this before. Maybe I was just getting in to my Rent character? I don't know, but I'm so sorry, Lizzy for making you cry and what happen-"

"I'm not." She gave me a confused look. _It's now or never_, I told myself. "I'm not sorry for what happened at all."

"I made my best friend cry, I'm not okay with that." She protested.

"I'm not talking about that, Ari. I'm talking about the kiss." She cringed at the word _kiss_.

"I know you live with no regrets, but-"

"No Ariana! Please, just listen to me! I have to say something right now, or I never will." She went silent. "I've been waiting for this day for a long time, actually." She looked lost. "Oh my God, I'm just.. All I can say is.." Why couldn't I figure out how to say it? "Ariana, I love you." She looked puzzled.

"I love you, too, Lizzy. You know that." She gave a big smile, but oh my God, how was this girl not getting it?

"No, Ari. I… _love_ you. Like, _love_ love. " I wanted to take back the words I spoke immediately after I said them. It took some time for my words to sink in. She turned her head to the side. She walked over to the table and sat down. She looked at me, then at her nails, then back at me, almost with a soft chuckle, while shaking her head. I didn't really know how to respond to this reaction, but I felt like I was going to throw up. I don't know what kind of reaction I was expecting, but I'm pretty sure this wasn't it. She hadn't said anything, and I just stood there, frozen. Finally, after gaining some more courage, I sat down next to her. "I'm sorry if I just ruined our friendship, Ari. I never meant for that happen, honest. You're my best friend and I figured now would be a good time to tell you. I hated not telling you, but this wasn't something I could just come out and tell you." She still was looking down at her nails. Her lips were pressed together. All I wanted at that moment was to feel her strawberry lips once more. Her eyes finally met mine. "Please don't be upset, Ari. I really am sorry." A smile appeared on her face. She brought her lips to my ear. I could feel her warm breath.

"I'm not." She whispered right before she leaned in and kissed me once more. Once again, it was nothing but perfection, but her teasing was just hurting me more, so I pushed her off me.

"What the hell!" She gave me a strange look.

"This is what you wanted, right?" She asked, seductively, as she leaned in towards me again. I turned my head. I honestly couldn't handle this right now.

"You're toying with my emotions and that's not cool." I got up and walked to the island in my kitchen. I leaned against it.

"How do you know I'm not in love with you, too?" She walked up to me and linked our fingers together. She was standing right in front of me, with that smile that makes me melt. I couldn't fall under her spell, not right now.

"Are you seriously asking me that right now? You freaking went crazy when we had one little kiss. You can't just change your mind and all of sudden be 'in love' with me. I know you, Ari. You don't want me hurting, so now you say you _love_ me too, but I don't want you to lie about it, please. " She took her fingers from mine and stepped back.

"I'm sorry, Lizzy. I don't know what's happening." I gave her a sympathetic smile. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed. See you in the morning." And just like that, she walked out of the kitchen and up to my room. This whole night is such a blur. It should've been a great night, but somehow it ended up with both of us hurt and confused. I needed to talk to someone. I need to talk to Matt. Remembering I left my phone on my bed, I decided to call him from my house phone. It rang a few times then went to voicemail. Matt _always_ answers his phone. I checked the time_. 2:56_. Damn, he was probably asleep. I called two more times and left a text message. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep tonight. About twenty minutes later, Matt finally called back.

"Finally! Oh my God, Matt! I need to talk to you!" My voice was shaky.

"Is everything oh-" I cut him off.

"NO!"

"Do I need to come over?" He knew whatever had happened had to be something big and it was about Ariana.

"Yes." I confessed.

"Be there in ten." I was instantly comforted. I decided to make myself some more tea while waiting for Matt to arrive. There was a knock at my door, I knew it was Matt. As soon as I opened the door he held out his arms. "Need a hug, bug?" He always knew how to make me laugh. I walked in to his embrace. Next, he walked to the couch and sat down. "So, what's going on, Liz?" I was silent and just looked down. "You have to tell me." I let out a sigh.

"We kissed." His eyebrows shot up. I decided not to mention that we did it twice.

"You did?! That's great!" I looked back down and shook my head. "I don't get it. That should be a good thing, right?" I nodded. "So what happened?"

"She flipped out." I said, still not making eye contact with him. "I'm so confused," I finally looked up at him. "_She_ kissed _me_. Why would she do that if she didn't have feelings for me?"

"Whoa! _She_ kissed you?" I nodded slowly. "Damn. Did she go home?"

"No, she's sleeping upstairs."

"What're you gonna do?" he asked. You could hear the concern in his voice.

"I don't know. I have no idea. I'm pretty sure our friendship is ruined."

"Don't say that. You never know, maybe she's got some feelings for you." I laughed.

"Yeah, right." We sat there for about another minute or so. "I guess I should probably get some sleep." I confessed.

"You're right. If you need anything else, you know I'm just a call away." He smiled. It was always great to know that no matter what happens in life, Matt would always be there for me. I knew that he didn't just say that, but he actually meant it. I smiled and walked Matt to the door. When I walked back into the house, I was too exhausted to go up to my room. To be completely honest, I didn't really wanna go there, anyway. I still had a huge knot in my stomach. No matter what Ariana or Matt could say, I knew I had ruined the greatest friendship I've ever had. I grabbed the throw blanket from on top of the couch. _Screw it_, I thought to myself as I began to fall asleep on the couch. This was definitely NOT how I wanted this night to go, at all.


	5. Chapter 5

**SORRY about the delay! I've been working really hard on this chapter. It's a VERY important chapter. Thank you again for ALL the sweet reviews, I enjoy them and they keep me going. So, here ya go! ENJOY!**

I was awakened by a text, from Ariana. "**Did you sleep on the couch because of me? Be honest**." I couldn't deal with this right now. I just want to sleep for the rest of my life. I walked into the kitchen and prepared my daily breakfast; a vegan/gluten free English muffin with bananas & agave. Same thing I have every morning. I started to feel bad, so I texted Ariana. "**I made breakfast, come down! :)**" I just wanted to forget everything about last night, even the kiss. I wanted to just erase it all from my mind. I heard little footsteps from upstairs. Just knowing that it was Ariana made my heart rate speed up and I hated it. I'm so over this little crush on her. I need to move on with my life. She walked into the kitchen. "Hey, you!" I said with a smile. "Good morning." Her face was puzzled.

"Hi." She sounded sleepy.

"I know you don't like agave, so I put strawberries and bananas on your English muffin." I brought our plates over to the table. "Want something to drink?" I asked, pouring myself a tall glass of water.

"Water is fine." I bring our two glasses over. "Thanks, Liz." I give her a smile and sit down across from her. I begin to eat my breakfast. The silence was awkward, but I was trying, really trying, to make things okay. Maybe I was trying too hard. "Frankie comes home tonight." Ariana said suddenly with a smile on her face. She loved her brother more than anything in this entire world.

"Really? That's so great! What time?" I asked.

"Umm.." She checked her phone. "2:30!" she said with a huge grin.

"We can pick him up, if you want."

"Really?!" I nod.

"Hell yeah!"

"Thanks, Liz!"

"Seriously, it's not a problem." Then there was more silence.

"Okay, Liz, we really need to talk." Ugh, here it comes, the conversation I just wanted to avoid. I set my breakfast down and gave her my undivided attention. "I can't stand you mad at me, you know that"

"I'm not mad at you" She completely disregarded what I had said and continued to speak.

"I know you probably don't want me to bring this up, but it's about last night…" It was almost as if she was waiting for me to interject again. "I don't regret it." I looked down. She stood up and sat next to me. I'm not gonna lie, it became a bit awkward. "I know you might not believe this, Liz, but for a while now, I've been having some 'new' feelings toward you." Yes, she _did_ put air quotes around "new," but I didn't care about that. My heart was too busy racing; Ariana has feelings for me! How could this be? "I was too scared to admit it was a crush." I was still in a state of shock. "I've actually wanted to kiss you for a really long time." She started to blush and she put some hair behind her ears and bashfully smiled. I really had no idea what to say. For the first time in my life, I was literally too in awe to speak. She looked back up at me. "Please, Liz, say something." I really didn't know how to respond to any of this. I just took her hand and let out a sigh.

"So, what exactly are you saying, Ari?" She bit her lower lip and shrugged.

"I really _really_ like you, Liz." I was silent. "These feelings.. I've never had them this strong for anyone. When we kissed, I… my feelings only grew stronger. I can't just erase everything that happened, Liz and I'm sure you can't either." Seriously? I must be dreaming.

"So… are you saying you want to try this thing out?" she looked at me with hopeful eyes. "You want to be an… us?" She nodded with her beautiful smile and linked our fingers together. I'm a sucker for those dimples. "Then kiss me." She got up (fingers still linked) and sat on my lap. She gently placed her lips against mine. It was the sweetest kiss I have ever experienced. There was no guilt and no regret; it was pure and Ariana was _mine_.

We spend some time just hanging out before we had to pick up Frankie. We left about an hour before his flight was scheduled to arrive. Ariana had driven with me hundreds of times before, but this time was different. I wasn't driving with my _best_ friend; I was driving with my _girl_friend. There was something so refreshing about that statement. We buckled up and headed down the highway. Typically, I drive with one and as we start driving, Ariana puts her hand under mine and links them together. I look at our interlinked fingers, then at her smiling face. Nothing could be better than this moment.

"Liz?" She begins "Have you 'come out' to anyone yet?" I could feel her eyes looking at me.

"Not really, just Matt. He's the one I would vent to about you." She giggled.

"Matt? Really?" I nodded. "He's so nice." There was some silence; I could tell that she was building up courage to say something. Then she said it, "I want to tell Frankie." I looked at her for a second, and then gave a smile.

"Good for you, Ari. You should definitely tell someone. I'm not gonna lie, though, it's a damn hard thing to do." She frowned a bit "I could be there with you, if you feel that would help?" I insisted. She leaned in and gave me a peck on my cheek and nodded.

Picking up Frankie was a breeze. He was already waiting outside of the terminal in the loading zone. Once he spotted us, he ran to my car like a maniac. All I cared about was the pure joy on Ariana's face. Ariana was first to get out of the car. She ran and embraced him. I loved seeing her truly happy. After their embrace, he came over to me and wrapped his arms around me. "Aw, there's my Lizzy Lu!" That had to be the _weirdest_ name I've ever been called in my entire life, but it never fails to get a laugh out of me.

"Hey, Frank!" I start loading his bags into my car. I can hear Frankie and Ariana's conversation. They're both talking saying a million words a minute. Fast talking while excited is a trait the both Grande's possess. "Car's all loaded," I say with a smile. The Grande's load into my car and I _know_ I better play some music Frankie would consider appropriate. I decide to use Pandora and I select the Madonna station.

"Hells yeah, Gills!" 'Gills' was also the other nickname Frankie called me. We had a nice mini jam session and then, a _certain_ song comes on, one that creates a bit of awkwardness throughout the vehicle; I Kissed a Girl. I couldn't change it without Frankie getting all suspicious. Plus, he already started singing it. Once Frankie starts singing a song, there is no changing it. I begin to feel panicky, but then I look over to the girl on my right, and every worry I have, just disappears.

We arrive at the Grande house and we notice that Joan isn't home. Ariana has a smile on her face and signals for me to check my phone. Text Message. **Mom's not home. I have to tell Frankie NOW before I chicken out! **I couldn't agree more. I meet her gaze and nodded. We helped Frankie put his luggage in his room, and then Ariana spoke. "Uh… Frankie? Can I… uh… I really need to talk to you. It's kinda urgent." His face looked worried. "Downstairs, please." Ariana lead us all downstairs to the living room. Frankie sat in the recliner and I stood behind him. I don't know why _I_ was the one feeling so nervous. Frankie looked really concerned. "Um… okay… so…" She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I need to tell you something really important." He nodded. Ariana looked at me, she was about to cry. I motioned for her to continue, giving a little smile. "You're the most important person to me, Frankie, you know that." And, she started crying. Frankie gets up to comfort her "No! Please sit down." He obeys, giving a confused look. "Frankie… I…" tears begin to fall more rapidly "I can't lie to you." My heart begins to ache. I hate seeing her in pain. "Frankie, I'm gay." Ariana stood there in sobs. I need to comfort her. I walked over to where she was standing and wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back. Frankie placed his head in his palms, in awe of what he had just heard.

"Is it Liz?" He looked up. Ariana nodded, big. "Well," he began "it's a good thing I love Liz!" He gave a huge smiled then jumped up and joined our embrace. Ariana turned around and faced him. She couldn't help but smile.

"You mean… you're okay with it?" She wiped a tear.

"Ari, what kind of gay big brother would I be if I didn't support my secretly gay little sister?" We all laughed. I moved a piece of hair from Ariana's eyes and she gave me a smile. "But really, I'm happy for you girls." We smiled. "So, how long have you two been dating?" Ariana looked at me and giggled.

"Since this morning." I say. Frankie let out a laugh.

"But we've had feelings for each other for a while now." Ariana added.

"Damn! So you still haven't even been on a date yet?" we shook our heads. "I know the perfect place for you guys to go!" He wrote down an address on a piece of paper. "Tell them Frankie sent you. You'll be taken care of." Ariana gave him a smile and thanked him. Then, Frankie got serious. "Thank you for telling me, Ariana. I know how hard it is to come out, especially to family, so I really appreciate it." I've always envied their relationship. Not just Frankie and Ariana, but their entire family. It breaks my heart knowing that I'll never have that kind of relationship with anyone in my family. If I told my mom I'm gay, she'd respond by saying something like "That's nice, Honey," and then continue with her work. My dad, I haven't talked to him in years. As for my brother, he's a carbon copy of my father. Hell, my family is so broken; I might as well not have a family at all. To avoid zoning out any more than I already had, I threw myself into their conversation.

"Where's your mom at?" I asked.

"Uhh, good question." Frankie said. Ariana took out her phone and began dialing.

"I'm calling her. I'll be right back." She walked out of the room. It was just me and Frankie.

"Do you really think this is gonna work?" He asked. I was a bit caught of guard by the bluntness of the question. I gave a confused look. "Come on, Liz! You _know_ Ariana isn't _really_ gay. She's never had feelings for a girl, _ever_." I stood there, expressionless.

"I don't know why any of that matters. She has feelings for me and I have feelings for her; end of story. It's no different than if I were a guy. And we know this might not work, but we're going to try it, because we mean that much to each other. If it doesn't work out and it's too weird for us, oh well. At least we can say we tried." He didn't say a word, but I was still pissed. "Plus, you're her brother. You mean more to her than anything in the world. Can't you just support her? She's done nothing but support you in all you've done." I walked out of the room. As I was walking down the hall, I saw Ariana. Every negative feeling in my body melted when I saw her.

"Hey! Where are you going?" She asked.

"Nowhere." I said quickly. "Looking for you, actually." She smiled and, like always, her dimples had put a spell on me. She put her arms around my neck and gazed in to my eyes.

"Let's go on a date!" I placed my hands on her hips. "Right now."

"I couldn't agree more." I pulled her close and gently pressed my lips to hers.

"Lesbians!" Frankie shouted as he passed us in the hall. We broke from our kiss. Ariana laughed so naturally, I did, too.

"I have to go tell Frankie we're leaving. I'll be right back." She gave me a sweet peck before she left. In that moment, nothing Frankie said mattered. All that mattered is that I got my girl.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this chapter took so long! I kinda started getting writer's block, but don't worry I've gotten past that. Thank you again for all your kind words. I love reading reviews! Here's chapter 6, ENJOY!**

The date went perfectly fine and we continued to go on several more dates for a few more weeks. About a month after we started dating, we both came out to our mothers. Ariana's mom cried, but made sure she knew she still loved her and that she was happy for us. My mother, however, didn't take it so well. She said that I was stuck in a phase and ruining my career, but honestly, her words meant nothing to me. They literally had no effect on me at all. We decided that "coming out" to the world and our fans probably wouldn't be the best career move. We still didn't want someone getting a hold of this information so we only told the closest people in our lives; our old cast mates. No one was really surprised, but they were all super supportive. We also decided to tell Dan, because he's part of the reason we're together. If we'd never been cast together on Victorious, I'm sure our friendship would have faded, quickly. He was thrilled! He said he was proud to finally have gay kids… whatever that meant.

At first, we felt guilty not telling our fans about our relationship, but we had to keep reminding ourselves that this was the best option. Every once in a while, we'd check out Twitter and Tumblr just to see what our "shippers" were thinking about certain things. We would always laugh and feel a little guilty but then we'd kiss and forget all about it. Life was going amazingly well, and we got very comfortable with each other. I often slept over at her house since my mother being home became such a rare occurrence. Joan was a little hesitant to the idea at first, but she her maternal side kicked in and she couldn't be happier. Plus, to make her feel better about this whole situation, she makes me sleep in the guest room, which I don't mind. I realize most mothers wouldn't be this cool, but that's just how Joan is, and she has so much trust for her kids, it's amazing. One morning, after we ate breakfast, Ariana just stared at me with this look and I knew something was bothering her AND I knew she wanted me to ask.

"What's bothering you, Ari?" I start. She just looks at me, and then places her head on my shoulder. I put my arm around her and rub her. "Talk to me, baby. What's wrong?" She looked at me and sighed.

"I got offered a movie role." She was almost in tears.

"Oh my God! Ari, that's great!" I leaned in for a kiss and denied.

"Liz, it's in Vancouver." My heart dropped, I had a lump in my throat, and I started biting my nails. After a few moments of silence, Ariana spoke "I'm not going."

"Yes you are" I told her.

"No, I'm really not. I can't." She linked our fingers and kissed my hand.

"Ariana, you have to go. It's really not even a choice. This is such an amazing opportunity. You're going." I fought back.

"No!" She got up from the couch and started pacing back and forth. "I don't want to leave you, Liz!" She was fighting back tears, now. I sighed and went to hug her. She buried her head in my neck, still fighting tears. "I like where we're at, I can't risk that." I brought her head to my face.

"I love where we're at, Ari, but nothing will change, okay? We can Skype, Face time, tweet, text, call…, whatever you want. You're my girl, Ariana; I want it to stay that way." She gave a sweet smile. I leaned in and kissed her lips, gently. She broke our kiss.

"But what are you gonna do while I'm gone? Like, house wise?" I hadn't really thought about that, but I didn't want to give her any reason to back out of this movie.

"Don't worry about me-"

"You're all I worry about." Her voice was almost a whisper.

"Well don't," I offer a smile. "I'll be fine. Plus, I've gotta go to New York sometime soon and do some writing and recording, anyway." She smiled.

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that." I guide her back to the couch to sit.

"I've gotta hurry and get this album done so we can do that world tour together that you've always dreamed about." I teased. She's always wanted to tour together. We've always talked about doing it since we first met. There was some silence before I asked the question that'd been eating at me. "When do you leave?"

"Two weeks." She frowned.

"When will you be back?" This was the answer I was most scared of.

"Not until November." And with that, my heart broke, but I couldn't show her that. She still looked upset. I pulled her in close so that our noses were touching.

"Hey! We're gonna be okay." She smiled at my lame rhyme. "I promise" I could feel her breath getting heavier. She leaped up and closed the distance between us. This kiss was different, with lots of passion and lust. She wrapped her arms around my neck and climbed onto my lap and straddled me. She reached for the hem on the bottom of my shirt when Frankie walked in the room.

"Mom, lesbians in the living room!" He shouted in a mocking tone. Ariana immediately broke from the kiss and hopped off me. Her face was flushed.

"Frankie!" She whined. "What the hell?" She was pissed.

"Chill out, Ariana! Can't you take a joke?" I knew it wasn't a genuine joke. Of course he had intentions. He still wasn't comfortable with us dating, but he still never gave any hints to Ariana about it.

"You're so damn annoying, sometimes!" She was still fuming.

"Seriously? Why is it so bad that I don't wanna walk in on my little sister having sex? You'd be the exact same way!" She refused to look at him "Especially in the living room!" He defended. "Calm down, girl" She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, linking our fingers along the way, and we walked to the backyard. Joan stopped us.

"Hi, girls!" She seemed out of sorts. She obviously heard Frankie's 'joke.' We looked at her and smiled. "Where are you heading?" Joan tried to smile, but it was easy to tell that this was awkward for her, too.

"Just outside." Ariana said with an edge to her voice. She was still annoyed by Frankie's 'joke'.

"Okay. Can I talk to you girls for a minute?" Ariana's fingers tensed and she looked at me, nervously.

"Yeah, of course" I said. She led us to a table outside. Ariana and I nervously sat across from her. There was an awkward silence before she began.

"I guess this is sort of my fault for not really setting strict rules." She began. I immediately knew exactly where this conversation was headed. She continued, "As I've said before, I'm okay with you girls being in a relationship, really, but I think it's time to set some ground rules." I nodded and glanced over at Ariana, who refused to look up at her mother. "I understand that intimacy is a necessity for any healthy and strong relationship" she exhaled and looked directly at her daughter. "Ariana, you have to understand how hard this is on me. You know how long it took me to adjust to Frankie having boyfriends." Her voice trailed off and Ariana still wasn't looking at her. "You're my only daughter, Ariana" Joan reached for her daughter's hand. Ariana looked at her, with teary eyes. "Listen to me, I'm not saying you girls have to hide in front of me, but just tone it down until I'm used to it. I'm perfectly okay with kisses, but Frankie having to start a 'Lesbian Alert?' Really?" Joan and Ariana laughed. "I really do love you, Ariana and I want you to be the happiest you can possibly be, okay?" Ariana got up and walked around the table to hug her mother.

"I love you so much, Mommy!" and she kissed her cheek. "I understand, I really do and from now on, we'll keep it PG." She gestured for me to follow her. As we walk away, Joan calls out my name. Ariana and I exchange strange looks before I walk over to Joan.

"Liz," she put a hand on my shoulder "You make my daughter so happy, you always have." She inserted a smile. "I'm so grateful that she has you. I just wanted to let you know that you've always been family to us. And I think I can speak for Frankie when I say we love you!" She gave me a hug.

"You guys are seriously the sweetest. Thank you for everything, Joan. No, seriously, I mean it. You've done so much for me. I'll never be able to thank you enough. " She was speechless.

"Just please don't hurt her, okay?" she asked.

"I would never." She gave me another hug.

"Alright, now go back to my daughter" She teased. I walked back over to Ariana. Apparently, she had heard the whole thing. We walked hand in hand to the corner of the Grande yard and shared some kisses and cuddled and enjoyed our time together. We were lying in the grass, enjoying the wonderful California weather. Our bodies were touching, our fingers were intertwined, and we were wearing smiles from ear to ear.

"Hey Liz" Ariana began, "why me?" I gave her a confused look. "You know, you could have anyone in the entire world, yet you chose _me_. Why?" She looked at me, worried. This would be one of the easiest answers I've ever given.

"First it was your humor, you've always made me laugh." She placed a kiss on my shoulder then brought herself closer to me. "Then, obviously your beauty I've still never seen anyone as beautiful as you." Her lips were still on my shoulder, I felt her smile. "Not to mention your singing voice. Oh my God, your singing is on a whole other level." She began to play with the ends of my hair. "There's never been anyone that I'm so comfortable with. I've always been able to be so natural with you." I turned to face her. "You take me for what I am and even when I screw stuff up, you're still always there." We both leaned in and shared a short peck. "Now, your turn."

"I love everything about you, literally." My heart was racing. "Your smile, your sarcasm, your kisses" she blushed, but didn't break our gaze. "You make me feel things no one else has. I get giddy around you and I just wanna spend every minute with you. When we're not together, all I think about is the next time I get to see you and touch you, and kiss you." She placed her head on my chest. I stroke her hair. Hearing her actually say all the things she loved about me, made me realize that we can make this relationship work. It's probably going to be difficult, but I know we can do it. The love that we both have for each other is unlike anything I've ever experienced. My heart melts. I kiss the top of her head. She smells good, like vanilla. "I'm so in love with you." she whispers.

"What?" My eyes were soft as my lips curled into a smile.

"I love you, Liz." She gave a gentle shrug and bashfully smiled. I kissed her lips, gently.

"Oh, and just in case you didn't know, I love you too." I've never been happier. We kissed some more and just continued watching the clouds pass over us.


	7. Chapter 7

**Guess who's back? Sorry I haven't updated. I feel like a lot of you are getting bored with this story and I apologize. So, here's another chapter that will hopefully keep you satisfied. Remember to review :)**

**ENJOYYY**

* * *

The next two weeks we spent as much time together as possible, but decided it would be best for me to not sleep over, to prepare for our separation. We were head over heels in love and there was no denying it. About a week before Ariana left her grandparents came for a visit from Florida. She was ecstatic! She loves her grandparents more than anything; it's really cute how excited she gets. We were at my house watching 13 going on 30 (per her request), when she got the call from her mother that she was on her way to pick them up from the airport. Ariana's face was beaming the entire phone call.

"AHH! My Nonna and Grandpa are here!" I couldn't get over how cute she looked being all excited like that. I couldn't help but smile.

"Oh my God! Want me to take you home so you can be there when they get there?" She began to frown.

"But I don't want to ruin our date." I gave her a blank look.

"We have dates all the time, Ari." I giggled. "Spend time with your grandparents." She smiled. "Let's go." I grabbed my keys and grabbed her hand and we walked to my car.

"Thanks, Liz." She was sincerely thankful. I gave her hand a little squeeze. We arrived at her house and she gave me a sweet peck on my lips before opening the car door. "I'll call you later." She smiled.

"Have fun!" She _ran_ all the way up to her door, hugging Frankie and they both were jumping excitedly. She waved goodbye before closing the door. I wasn't really in the mood to go home to an empty house and be lonely so I went for a little drive. I just drove around Los Angeles. It felt good to actually have some "me time" without feeling lonely. Somehow, I ended up at this random park and I just sat and absorbed everything that was going on in my life. I was happier than I've ever been in my life, all because of one girl. I sat there for about an hour when Ariana called me.

"Hey!" I spoke.

"Liz, I want to tell them." I was confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"I want to tell Nonna and Grandpa about… _us_." I was silent and my heart dropped.

"Are you sure?" There was silence.

"Yes and I need you here when I do it." Her voice was cracking. I let out a sigh.

"Okay. Do you want me to come over right now?"

"Yes, please."

"Be there in twenty."

"I love you."

"I love you, too." We hung up.

I drove to the Grande house with knots instead of the usual butterflies in my stomach. I was more nervous for Ariana than myself. If they were against this whole relationship and started blaming me or something, I could handle that, but I won't be able to see Ariana shattered. I remember when Frankie came out to them; they did not handle it well at all. They didn't talk to Frankie for almost two months. I mean, finally they came around to their senses and love him again, but Ariana won't be able to handle that as well as Frankie did. I pulled into their driveway and decided to text Ariana and let her know I was here. I opened my door and climbed out of my car, making sure to fix my clothes and make sure that I looked presentable. I looked up and saw Ariana running to my car with a huge smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a huge hug. I wanted to kiss her so bad, but I knew that couldn't happen. We stood there kind of awkwardly. I knew she wanted to kiss me too.

"Well, let's go do this." She was trying to smile, but her eyes were scared. I followed her into the house. As soon as I walked through the front door, my nose was attacked by the scent of delicious food. Joan had clearly been cooking her delicious specialty meals. "Wow, Joan! Everything smells _amazing_!"

"Thank you, Liz. It's great to see you again." She walked towards me and wrapped me a hug, kissing my cheek. Ariana lead me to the living room where her grandparents were. I hadn't seen them in about two years, but they still looked exactly the same.

"Nonna, Grandpa, Do you remember my friend, Liz?" Both their heads turned to my direction and I felt like throwing up.

"Of course we do!" Her Grandpa said standing up. His wife followed his action. "She's on your show with you." I smiled. He walked over to me and hugged me. This family was definitely big on hugs.

"Always lovely to see you, Elizabeth." Her grandma said. I sat down and Ariana followed. I looked over at her. She was nervously biting her nails. "So Elizabeth," her grandmother started, "how are things going in your life? Where is your road taking you now that Victorious has been cancelled?" I honestly didn't know, but I didn't want to tell her that.

"I've been writing lots of music and working with some really great producers, so hopefully I'll have an album out sometime soon." I smiled.

"That's wonderful! You have such a lovely voice; it'd be a shame for you to not share it with the world. That's what I always told Ariana." She looked over at her granddaughter, smiling.

"Nonna, I need to tell you something." Her grandmother's face fell.

"What is it, Dear? Is everything alright?" She was worried. Ariana looked over at me, tears beginning to for in her eyes. Right as Ariana was getting ready to speak, Joan walked into the room and called us all to dinner. We all got up and walked to the dinner table. This was going to be harder for Ariana to do than I thought. Dinner was full of laughs and old stories. Ariana and I were holding hands under the table and playing footsies. I felt like I was part of their family. This is how I always imagined Thanksgiving and Christmas would be with Ariana. This dinner experience made me that much more nervous for Ariana's grandparents' response to our relationship. If they didn't approve, I'd never have an opportunity like this again. Everyone was finishing up dinner and Ariana whispered to me.

"Meet me in my room in exactly 60 seconds." She got up and left the room, excusing herself. I stood up and took mine and Ariana's dishes to the sink. I offered to help Joan with dishes, but she declined. I excused myself and walked to Ariana's room. I opened the door and closed it behind me. Ariana was pacing back and forth in front of her bed biting her nails. "I'm freaking out, Liz, FREAKING OUT." I wrapped my arms around her, she was shaking. I began to stroke her hair gently and I kissed her forehead.

"I know, Baby." She got on her tip toes and placed a kiss on my lips.

"I've been waiting to do that all day." We both smiled. "If I don't do it now, I never will."

"Then let's go. You can do this. I'm here for you, Ari. Frankie and your mom are here, too." I kissed her lips once more, not wanting to release her. I told her to smile and we walked out of her room and headed toward the living room. Her grandparents were sitting in the same spot, holding hands and talking about how proud of their grandchildren they were. Ariana looked at me before entering the room. I gesture for her to go.

"Oh, hello, girls!" Ariana waves and walks to the chair across from where they're sitting. I decide to stand against the wall behind them.

"I really need to tell you guys something really important." She looks at me and I smile. "I have to tell you guys because I love you. You two mean the world to me and I hate keeping things from you. "

"Well, are you okay, Baby girl?" Her grandpa asks, worried.

"I'm better than I've ever been. I see the world differently now and I'm just so happy and that's something that I can't keep hiding from two people who I love." Her grandparents still look worried. "I've been seeing someone." Her grandparents' faces lit up in happiness.

"Oh, Honey! We're so happy for you! Who is he? Do we know him?"

"Yes you know this person. Um, but… there's more. "

"ARIANA GRANDE YOU BETTER NOT BE TELLING US THAT YOU'RE PREGNANT BECAUSE I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL KILL THAT LITTLE-"

"Oh, God no! Just let me finish, please." They were silent. Ariana closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm dating Liz." The room was silent. My eyes shot over to Ariana, first who was using every muscle in her body to stop herself from crying. Then I looked at her grandparents. I couldn't really tell if they were happy or upset, but her grandma was crying and her grandpa's head was turned to his wife. Ariana opened her eyes and looked at me. I shrugged and saw her eyes fill with water. Her grandparents stood, without saying a word, and left the room. The second they left, Ariana fell apart. She collapsed onto the couch and her head fell to her hands. I sat next to her and wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back. She started sobbing uncontrollably. My eyes began to water. I brought her closer to me and kissed her temple. She only started weeping more. She was broken, I was broken.

"I'm so sorry, Ariana." She brought her legs up and put them over my thighs and brought herself closer, burying her face in the crook of my neck.

"I still love you, Lizzy" She was sniffling and trying to stop her tears. I wiped them from her face. "Even if my Nonna and grandpa make me choose you or them, I love you." That thought broke my heart even more.

"I'll always love you. I know you're sad, but you did the right thing, Ari. They deserve to know and maybe they just need some time to warm up to the idea." She reached up and kissed my jaw. She was starting to breathe regularly again. I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. We just sat there comforting each other quietly. Joan came in and sat down next to Ariana. She took her legs off me and turned to face her mother. Her mother gave her a sorry smile and brought her in for a hug, then left the room. Ariana turned to me and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. She smiled and locked our fingers together. We sat there in silence for a few more minutes before Joan appeared again.

"How you holding up, Baby Girl?" Ariana just shrugged. "Nonna's ready to talk. She's out back waiting for you." Ariana looked nervous. She gave me a short kiss before heading outside.

I don't know what was said, but when Ariana came back she was all smiles. She placed her hands on my cheeks and looked into my eyes. "Everything's okay again." Then she closed the space between us.

* * *

**Care to review? :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Y'all have been so sweet and I've been LOVING the reviews! :) **

**Sooo, this next chapter is pretty hot and heavy. I was kinda paranoid about it since this fic is only rated T, but honestly, I don't think it's intense enough to be rated M. **

**PLEASE let me know what you think of this chapter, especially since it's so different from what I normally write :) **

**ENJOYYY! **

* * *

The night before she left for Vancouver, I slept over and helped her pack for her trip. We were having a great time singing, laughing, kissing; everything was as perfect as can be. Everything was packed and we were all ready for bed. Sitting on Ariana's bed, we were just talking and enjoying one last night with each other for a month and a half. Ariana suddenly stopped. "I can't go." I rolled my eyes. _Not this again_, I thought to myself.

"You're going." She rested her head on my shoulder and sighed. I kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay, Ari. I promise. You really have nothing to worry about." I began stroking her hair. "You're gonna have such a blast, and I'm gonna be so jealous when you call me every night and tell me about all the fun you had." I offer with a smile.

"I wish you were going with me." She said.

"I know, but I gotta work on my album so we can tour together, remember?" I joked. She giggled and I pulled her closer. "Stop being sad about it, Ari. This is such a great opportunity. Plus," I pulled her so she was sitting on top of me. "We'll have a lot to make up for when you get home." I say with a smirk. I bring her face down to mine and kiss her, hard. It's a kiss full of power, emotion, and lust. Her tongue entered my mouth. Our tongues wrestled and I reached for the hem of her shirt, slowly dragging it up her body, revealing her belly button. She broke the kiss.

"Please don't forget about me." Her eyes started to fill with water. She climbed off me buried her face in her pillow. I turned her head so she was facing me.

"Hey, I could NEVER forget about you, seriously." I gave her a soft kiss and she tried to smile. "We should probably sleep. You've got a long day tomorrow." She brought her body closer to mine and I wrapped my arms around her. Her eyes were closed and she let out a happy sigh. I smiled to myself.

"Good night, Lizzy." She opened her beautiful brown eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ari." She kissed my lips and adjusted herself closer to me. We slept like that until we were interrupted by her alarm clock. 4:30 AM. Ariana was still sleeping, which was strange. She was always awake before I was. I couldn't stop looking at her. She's so beautiful. How was it possible that every little thing she did was simply beautiful and perfect? I don't think that girl has one flaw in her body. I gently brushed a strand of red velvet hair from her face. _How did I get so lucky?_ I thought to myself. _She's mine, ALL mine_. Her eyelids began to flutter and she shifted a bit before opening her eyes completely.

"Good morning, Beautiful." She greeted with a smile. I leaned in to kiss her and she backed away "Not before I brush my teeth!" she giggled. It was obvious she was slightly embarrassed. She got up and ran to the bathroom and began to brush her teeth. I laughed silently to myself. Ariana was full of so many quirks and I loved them all. In fact, they only made me love her more. I followed and brushed mine as well. We spit and rinsed our mouths out before sharing a good morning kiss. We walked downstairs, hand in hand, and grabbed a quick breakfast. After we ate, I went to get dressed and Ariana went to wake her mother and Frankie. Just as I finished changing, I heard a knock on the door. "Liz?" Ariana opened the door, slowly. Her tone confused me a bit. It was mixed with worry and regret. I look over at her and give a little nod gesturing for her to go on. "Um, well, I was wondering if, um…" She always had a hard time getting to the point. I walk over to her and reach for her hand.

"What is it?" I smile. She looked at our hands and bashfully smiled.

"It's not even that weird, I don't know why I'm freaking out." She looked up into my eyes. "Well, since I'm gonna be away from you so long," She started. "Can I take your Beatles shirt to Vancouver with me?" A smile curled across my lips as I leaned in and kissed her, softly. "Are you sure? I know how much you love that shirt, Liz." She bit her bottom lip.

"I DO love my shirt, but I love you way more." I walked over to my bag and took out my favorite shirt in the entire world and handed it to Ariana. Her face lit up and she was all smiles. There was something about that damn old tee shirt that brought a sense of comfort. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn't perfect. All the holes and the bleach stains made me feel at peace. I was happy to share it with the love of my life. She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed tight.

"Thank you, Lizzy!" I kissed her forehead. "You're the best!" She kissed my nose and skipped downstairs, my shirt in her hand.

I was trying to be in the best mood I possibly could, for Ariana, but in reality, I was depressed. Almost two months without Ariana? I can hardly go one night without seeing her. This would definitely be a huge test to our relationship. If we could make it past these two months, I knew we'd be okay. I walked downstairs to the living room and saw Ariana giving hugs and good bye kisses to her baby, Coco. She loves that dog as if she were really her daughter. Frankie saw my shirt in Ariana's hands and shot a look in my direction. He obviously thought she'd gotten my shirt a _different_ way. I rolled my eyes and walked over to grab the rest of Ariana's belongings and followed Frankie out to the car. It was awkwardly silent as we packed the car. He broke the silence and looked me directly in the eyes.

"Do you really love her?" I was startled.

"Yes, more than anything." He stared at me for a minute.

"Ya know, I never would've thought that you would be Ariana's first love." I knew where he was going with this. "When she would tell me about the guys she liked… I don't know. You're just not her type." My defenses kicked in.

"And what exactly is her type, Frankie, male?" He looked down. "I know you really don't like us together and I really don't know why. Ariana's happy, happier than I've ever seen her. You mean everything to her, why can't you be happy that she's finally found something so rare. You of all people know how hard it is to be gay and truly feel happiness. She looks up to you in so many ways, Frankie. You're her role model." As I said my last word, Ariana and Joan came out, smiling and ready to go.

"All set?" Joan asked. Frankie and I nodded. "Well, let's get going. I don't feel like missing my flight!" Frankie sat in the front with his mother and Ariana and I in the back, of course. We linked our hands and Ariana rested her head on my shoulder. We didn't talk too much during the car ride; we were just relishing each other. The closer we got to the airport, the more my heart sank. This was actually happening. I was going to watch my happiness get on an airplane, and leave me. Ariana began to shiver. I pulled her closer and felt wetness on my shoulder. Ariana was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. I tried to bring her head up to face mine, but she refused. I brought my lips to her ear and whispered.

"Hey, talk to me. Ari, why are you crying?" She shook her head. I knew why she was crying, it's the same reason I was fighting back tears. I brought myself down to her face and kissed her cheek. She grabbed my face and connected our lips. It was short, but full of love. Her head remained on my shoulder and she fell asleep. We arrived at LAX and it was silent. After the car was all parked, Joan turned around to see a sleeping Ariana and she smiled then looked at me.

"She loves you so much." She said with a true smile. I smiled and brushed a strand hair behind her ears.

"I love_ her_ so much." I said.

"I know you do, Liz and I can't thank you enough for loving her the way you do." She grinned, big. "I'm so fortunate that she's found true love and that it's someone as kind-hearted as you." I smiled. "Well, we gotta get going. Will you wake her up? Frankie and I will grab the luggage and check in." I nodded. Joan and Frankie left to check in. I knew just how to wake Ariana up. I planted a soft kiss on her lips. She wrapped her arms around my neck and deepened the kiss. She pushed me down on the seat and kissed me, harder. She was working on removing my shirt.

"Ari…" I said between kisses. "Ari, we can't" she made breathing hard. "Not right now, Ari." Her face saddened. "You know I want to, but right now is NOT the time or place. Plus, your mom's gonna be back any minute and she doesn't need to see that." We both let out a little laugh. She got off me and I saw Frankie standing outside the car with arms crossed. Ariana fixed her hair and her clothes before she saw her brother. Her face became redder than her hair. She opened the door and he popped his head in.

"Mom sent me to hurry you guys up. I'm glad she did because who knows what could've happened if i waited five more minutes." Frankie looked disappointed.

"We were just kissing, Frankie." Ariana defended, with an annoyance I her voice. He saw the sad in her eyes.

"Come on, you really gotta get going." Ariana was still blushing, but got out of the car anyway, as did I. We linked hands and began to walk through the airport. We completely forgot about paparazzi and frankly, we didn't care if anyone saw our PDA, we just wanted to be together. We got to her terminal and Ariana guided me to the far corner of the waiting area. We sat on the floor. She sat sideways and put her legs over my thighs. She brought herself as close to me as she possibly could without sitting in my lap. She adjusted herself for a few minutes before finally getting comfortable by placing her head on my shoulder and wrapping her arms around my neck.

"I'm scared." She said quietly.

"Why?"

"The unknown." He voice got softer. "What if I literally can't survive without you?" I adjusted us so that I could look into her eyes.

"Ari, we're gonna talk to each other every day AND we're gonna Skype. You won't have to worry about being without me." She looked down.

"What if you don't love me anymore?" That broke my heart.

"Ariana, I can't believe that you would even think that. I'll never be able to stop loving you, not even if I tried. You're everything to me, and you know that." I lifted her chin and her eyes followed "I'll love you even after I take my last breath." Her eyes softened and her lips curled into a smile. She gave me a quick kiss and smiled. We spent the next 20 minutes reading gossip magazines and making fun of people walking through the airport. When they announced her flight was now boarding, I got sick to my stomach. We both got up and walked hand in hand over to the terminal. Joan had already boarded the airplane and Frankie was saying his goodbyes to his sister. After their goodbye, we knew what would come next. This was the part we were dreading; _our_ goodbye. We wrapped our arms around each other and just stared at each other, no hint of a smile in sight.

"I'm gonna miss you so much." Ariana said.

"I love you so much." I felt a lump begin to form in my throat. Before I could say anything else, her lips crashed to mine. I felt her tears on my cheek. "Have fun, okay?" My voice was shaking. I tried my best to force a smile.

"I love you, Lizzy." She was gazing into my eyes. I kissed her nose.

"I love you most. Call me as soon as you land, okay?" She nodded. They announced the final boarding call. Ariana had a panicked look on her face. "Go!" I said smiling "we'll be fine, Ari. I promise." She freed her hand from mine and placed her hands on my face, before cupping my face and kissing me one last, long, beautiful, sweet, sugary kiss. Her tears were falling rapidly. She grabbed her suitcase and walked toward the plane entrance, looking at me the whole time. She gave me one last wave before boarding and I forced another smile. I sat down in the waiting area and watched her plane leave. When it was completely out of sight, I lost it and every emotion I had been feeling and bottling up inside, poured out of my eyes and down my cheeks. I sat and cried for a good fifteen minutes before I felt a hand touch my shoulder. The little flurry of hope inside me was praying it was Ariana, even though I knew that was in no way possible. I turned around to see Frankie standing there with a sympathetic smile.

"You okay?" He asked. I shook my head and wiped the tears from my face and turned back to the big glass window displaying the empty spot where Ariana's plane once was. I could literally feel my heart shattering. "Let me give you a ride home." I didn't know why he was being so nice to me, but I needed a ride home.

"Thanks, Frankie." About three miles from my house, Frankie pulled the car over. Not gonna lie, I panicked and gave him a confused look. He turned the engine off. "Frankie, what the hell?"

"We need to talk, Liz." Oh God. I was silent. "I can't just let you go home without getting this off my chest." I looked down at my hands. "I owe you an apology." My head shot up. I was genuinely surprised. Frankie was never the type of person to apologize. "I know you probably think I hate you, but I could _NEVER_ hate you. You've always been my favorite friend of Ariana's and I've been such a dick lately. You don't deserve that, Liz; you really don't. I guess I'm just kind of scared…" his voice trailed off "I know how deeply in love with you she is. I've seen her 'in love' before, but it was never like this. You're her whole world now and I don't want her to get hurt. I know I haven't been the greatest supporter lately, but I really want to change that. I think you're so rad, Liz, and I know your love for Ariana is true." He stopped. "I'm just really sorry for everything, Liz." I smiled.

"Apology accepted. Thank you, Frankie." He started up the car and drove me to my house with a smile on his face the whole time.

"If there's anything you need, anything at all, you know who to call." I laughed at his lame rhyme.

"I will. Thanks again, Frank!" I closed the car door and walked into my hell hole of a house. I wasn't surprised at all that it was empty. I walked up to my room and threw myself on to my bed. This was going to be the longest two months ever.

* * *

**Soo, what'd you think? Let me know in the reviews below :)**


End file.
